Why could my heart be hurting this much for this long?

Question

For two days now I have had this pain in my chest. On the left side of my chest, right above where my heart is. At first I thought I slept in the wrong position, but its been two days now. It hurts to breathe sitting up and standing up, but not lying down. It hurts exhaling but not inhaling . Last check up my Dr said my cholesterol was just a little high, that was Feb.-06, could high cholesterol be the cause of this pain? I know that its not a sign of a stroke or heart attack, gas or indigestion and has nothing to do with my lungs,(my back doesnt hurt when i'm breathing), does anyone know what it might be? I really dont wait to go to the hospital, I have no one to care for my son if I get admitted, so all answers that are helpful will be appreciated, thanks

Answer 1

you could have just strained a muscle in your rib cage... breathing requires the movement of a lot of these muscles, especially breathing out, so that action could be causing a compression or stretch on the muscle. Just relax and try not and do anything to make you breath really deep or forcefully and hopefully it will go away...

Answer 2

I spent 9 months with such pain. I know my local cardiologist very well.....

Let's assume that your EKGs look okay tonite -- the penalty for being wrong on this problem is pretty considerable, and you need to be very sure!

There are ribs in there, and if one of them gets twisted then the muscles get all tense, and the pain is considerable. IT does make you feel like you're having a heart attack, and in my case my EKGs were abnormal too (heart hitting chest wall).

I'd suggest putting a heating pad on the sore spot. I found that if I slipped a heating pad under my shirt and put it on medium then I eventually started feeling better.

My condition was cured by a sports med doctor, who did a glorified chiropractic routine on me. I was sore from the treatments for a few days, but they did work.

Answer 3

How can you rule out causes, such as a CV or Pulmonary origin? The differential diagnosis is quite broad at this point.
No. Elevated cholesterol in itself cannot cause "pain." It can precipitate other conditions that may manifest as pain (eg. heart attack).
Other associated symptoms would be of benefit to assist in diagnosis. Some common conditions based on what you describe include, CAD (angina), pulmonary embolus (blood clot in the lung), GERD (heart burn), costochondritis (musculoskeletal pain), pleurisy (irritation of the lung), to name a few.
Evaluation by a licensed medical provider is certainly warranted in your case.

Answer 4

I had this problems too. I could not sleep flat. breathing and walking was difficult too. cholesterol was 6.2 First thing I did was cut down my in take. In the morning I Ate one slice of brown bread toast, pineapple, melon, papaya, kiwi fruits and drank water. Mid day meal salad including celery and pasta. No alcohol at all. evening, light meal. Nothing fried. After 7.30 pm I did not eat. After meals I went for a walk. Twice a week, at night before going to bed I cut 4 pods of garlic and put it in the cup and pour boiling water and leave it for half hour. Just before going to bed I drink it. Garlic helps any blood clots and any symptoms of strokes. or heart problems. In the morning I feel comfortable in the chest. Having garlic twice a week helps cholesterol too.
I started to go to gym. I did ten minutes on treadmill walk and cycling. Slowly I increased the time to 20 minutes. Do breathing excises too. Inhale through noseand let out through by mouth.
I started to feel better on the second week. Now I am just fine. I did check with the doctor on regular basis.
I am single mother too. I have to take care of myself for the sake of my children. I hope you do the same. Take care.

Answer 5

Well it could be either stress or the lack of sex or something. But maybe its because you're not eating healthy or you don't excersise as much as you should. Having a healthy diet and excersing is very good for you and maybe if you do these things it will go away. I had the same thing goin' on with me but it didn't hurt when I breathed or anything. My mom says it's just growing pains or whatever the hell that is. But I hope u get better...

Answer 6

If I were having such pains I would head for the nearest emergency room. Does your health insurance cover a nurse helpline? Could you have injured a rib? I often look things up on webmd.com. Your symptoms sound a bit sketchy though. Not sure you could find help there.

Answer 7

Maybe you did something to your ribcage or something. As long as you don't have the symptons of an up coming heart attack, and if advil doesn't help then maybe you should go to the doctor, and have family watch over your son.

Answer 8

Get down on your hands and knees and rock back and forth for a little while. Then see if the pain is still there.

Answer 9

ASAP to doctor !!!!